The Problem of Pinterest

Pinterest has been a wonderful tool to organize all of the website pages and ideas I love. I no longer have to remember sites, clutter up my bookmarks, or lose places when the internet goes down or I mindlessly close up the dozens of tabs waiting for that elusive time I call “later.” Furthermore, I don’t have to write html code anymore to share my favorite links and ideas with you all; you can just come visit my own Pinterest boards. (I’ll wait here…)

The problem of Pinterest, as I see it, is this. It’s yet another distraction. Another wonderful distraction, to be sure, enchanting and full of places to get lost in time. And the problem with that (as you may know) is (at least) twofold.

One, it gives plenty of ready opportunities to practice self-control and putting to death coveting (over and over and over…). You may think that’s a good thing to practice, but if you’re lamenting the ample amounts of “practice” you’ve been putting in lately, maybe it’s time to reconsider that habit. Lamentation without repentance isn’t really lamentation; it’s barely a nod to an irksome conscience pricker.

And two, it can suffer you into never getting anything done! All of those wonderful gardening ideas…..have you tried one in your own yard? What about the 53 (or 530) craft ideas….have you made an effort to make the time and space to give any of them a go? And why are you making spaghetti again when you’ve been pinning multiple alternative recipes to try? (Oh wait…that was me tonight…)

Oy, the distraction. I even got distracted just going to the site to get the LINK (“oooh….look at that!…..).

Want to know the best way to get that wonderful site to *heel*? Actually DO something with your hands (other than typing and swiping I mean). I finally figured out that no matter how many kitchens on Pinterest I salivated over, mine was going to stay the same dreary brown light-sucking dark wood unless I drove to the paint store. And so I did. And I am working on a task I really do not like (painting) in order to get what I do like (a more cheery kitchen), rather than spending more time pinning (which I d0 like) rather than working (which I can gracefully bow out of anytime with the most flowery of excuses….like I just ran out of time or some such).

And along those same lines (painting, I mean), I broke out the acrylics, the watercolors, the pens, pencils and papers and glues. Sure, I’ve been doing that for years for my children, but this time it’s for ME. All of those amazing artists I love….bless them, some of them offer online classes. All of that art I love: mixed media, watercolors, art journaling…..classes abound and lots of them are FREE. I surely don’t expect anyone to pin my artwork, but you know what, I have my own artwork! That is new as spring to me and as fresh as honey scented falling April rain (we get that here, the honey-scented spring that is).

Don’t laugh at my ducky. I think he’s adorable 🙂

I don’t have a lot of time for these sorts of extras. Homeschooling, homemaking mamas usually don’t. But grabbing even a couple of hours a week, whether it is in 15 minute chunks every day or all at once one day a week…you, too, could pick at doing something Pinterest-worthy. You, too, could grab that skirt pattern you pinned and start preparing fabric….or learn to photoshop some photos…or buy a box of pansies to put into something burlappy….

And please remember that places like Pinterest have a zillion people on them, and you are but one. No one does everything. But one person taking even the smallest step towards creating or bettering or making or crafting or planting or sewing…that person will have something beautiful to offer the world as well, even if it’s nothing advertised but the outward peace that comes with time better managed and a gratitude that grows from a contented heart.

Now, about all of these scraps I’ve been gathering…

Blessings,

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Thanks for sharing. Sometimes I do find myself sucked into the time-wasting lure of Pinterest. On the otherhand, I have completed quite a few projects and recipes that I wonder if I would have done without the motivation I seem to draw from pinning. …And I like your duck…he is cute!

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I'm a wife and mother of many, including two with Down syndrome. I'm also a writer, weaver, podcaster and practicing herbalist. By God's grace, every new day I am looking to cultivate a quiet, simple, and deliberate lifestyle. Life can be challenging, but it's never boring (especially with this guy!).